


Double dates and silent conversations

by Pizzama8



Series: Recovery [4]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:31:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pizzama8/pseuds/Pizzama8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nepeta convinces Karkat to go on a double date with Meulin and Kurloz however both Meulin and Kurloz are determined to help Karkat and Nepeta both with their relationship and with Karkats suicide attempt.</p>
<p>Or in which Karkat gets threatened and reassured by Kurloz whilst Meulin supports Nepeta in her relationship in a very sisterly way even though they aren't sisters because trolls don't have relatives, that would be dumb.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter one

 

“Do I really have to go?”

 

Karkat whined; giving his tie a final tug and smoothing down his suit. He felt ridiculous and looked ridiculous. He hated the suit, he hated the restaurant and he hated going out during the week. He gave his tie another tug trying to make it look a bit more presentable. He hated the black and white monstrosity with a grey tie. He sorted it and then undid it angrily; retying it, again.

 

“yes you do, we’re dating now and I want you to meet my sister!”

 

“She’s not your sister, trolls don’t have those!”

 

“Yes but sister is easier to understand than dancestor! So deal with it!”

 

Nepeta stuck her tongue out at him before continuing to apply her green lipstick. When she was satisfied that it was finished she dropped the lipstick into her black purse and snapped it shut with a finality that made Karkat jump. He sighed and finished off his tie and was about to take it off again before she tutted and walked over; fixing it properly and patting his chest.

 

“It’s fine, you look fine. Come on lets get going already.”

 

He frowns but nods;

 

“sure whatever”

 

She shakes her head and pats his face gently before turning and leaving her apartment with him in tow; locking the door behind him. They walked quickly down the stairs and out of the building. Waiting for them was a dark purple car with Kurloz in the driver’s seat and Meulin in the passanger seat.

 

They entered the car; Karkat still grumpy about being forced to go along with it but Nepeta quickly and excitedly signing to Meulin. Kurloz wasn’t much for conversation and even if he could speak he was busy not wrapping the car around a tree or a lamppost or another car.

 

They eventually arrived at the restaurant after a twenty minute drive; they stepped out and Karkat took Nepetas arm in his and they entered the expensive looking establishment. It took a grand total of thirty seconds to get seated; them being placed at a table near the window. They sat down with Nepeta opposite Meulin and Karkat opposite Kurloz.

 

Then fell an awkward silence as Nepeta and Meulin continued to sign to each other. Karkat shifted uneasily in his seat and looked out the window; taking great interest in passers by. Kurloz leant forward and placed his elbows on the table; resting his head in his hands and stared intently at Karkat. Suddenly there was a voice, or rather the memory of a voice and whether or not anyone had actually spoken was something Karkat did not care enough about to stipulate.

 

**How are you.**

He looked around in confusion; Nepeta and Meulin were still enraptured in their conversation and Kurloz was a mute so it couldn’t have been hi-

 

**It was me small kankri**

He frowned and glared at Kurloz; opening his mouth to speak. Kurloz raised one solitary finger against his lips to indicate silence.

 

**Think what you wish to say.**

_Don’t call me small kankri, I’m nothing like that insufferable asshole._

Kurloz smirked and the sounds of silent laughter rang loudly in Karkats memory.

 

**Do you know what they are saying?**

_You mean you don’t?_

**They are using English sign language, I only know alternian.**

_Isn’t sign language fucking universal or something?_

**You should listen to kankri, small kankri. He would know that is not true.**

Karkats glare intensified and Kurloz’s mouth twitched up slightly and the shadow of a chuckle reverberated in Karkats mind.

 

_So you have no idea what they are saying?_

**I believe they may be talking about us, but that’s a guess. If you could silently communicate with someone without the other people present knowing what you were saying wouldn’t you be tempted to do the same?**

_Still fucking rude_

There was the silent laughter again; Karkat found himself smiling. The conversation inside his head was a novelty and it seemed that Gamzees bro- Dancestor! was considerably better humoured and over all less of an asshole than Gamzee himself. Then again this was about thirty seconds of conversation.

 

**My beloved has spoken to me of your situation. She has talked at length with your matesprit and her concerns and I must say you have caused many people a considerable amount of both alarm and concern.**

_It’s reassuring to know that Nepeta enjoys sharing all my secrets to your “beloved”_

There goes his good humour, he hated people knowing about his lapse in judgement. It was a bad memory that he didn’t want to entertain more than necessary and yet it somehow kept cropping up. The last thing he wanted to be reminded of was his suicide attempt.

 

_Any other deep dark secrets Nepeta tell you about?_

Kurloz frowned and slowly shook his head.

 

**Only that you are a virgin, but I did not expect anything else from small kankri.**

Karkat turned a deep crimson and looked away hurriedly. The two girls seemed deeply engrossed in their conversation. Their hands a blur of movement and their lips completely still, if he’d bothered to look closer he’d probably notice that Nepeta seemed flustered and if he’d looked really close he might’ve noticed that her gestures seemed more defensive and not as conversational.

 

_Fuck you too._

**Such hostility, I did not mean to pry I am merely trying to make conversation as well as…**

Did he just leave a sentence that was never actually spoken, hanging? Karkats reply comes out short, swift and aggressive.

 

_As well as what?_

 

**Apologise. It is due to my younger self that you ended up in your predicament and I am hopeful that I may one day make amends to that. It was because Gamzee stole your previous matesprit from you that you ended up as you did.**

Kurloz turned his head slightly and Karkat followed his gaze.

 

**It appears we are alone, the girls must’ve gone to the toilet or something. May I see them?**

_Pardon?_

**Your scars, may I see them?**

Reluctantly Karkat placed his arm on the table and rolled his sleeve up to his elbow; revealing two long vicious scars across his wrist. Kurloz seems to nod in approval and places his own arm alongside Karkats; revealing a similar set of scars on his own wrist.

 

**You and I are not so different after all?**

_What the fuck_

Again that chuckle; a low and rattling noise that bounced off the insides of his skull.

 

**Meulin could once sing, I’m afraid that once I deafened her I stole that from her. It took her a month to no longer be able to regulate her voice. I blamed myself for a long time and eventually the guilt grew too much for me. Who found you?**

_My moirail, kanaya._

**I am ashamed to say I put my beloved through hell twice. It is not something I am proud of.**

_And I thought my situation was bad._

**I am grateful she did, though I wish it had not been her. She showed me a reason to live again and I took it; reluctantly at first but gradually once I got used to the sensation of being given a second chance I grew determined not to waste it.** **My point is that you and I are both lucky to be alive, luckier still to be dating a Leijon don’t you agree? They have given us second chances and I think it would be rude to waste those. I don’t have much to live for Karkat vantas but I am not eager to leave my beloved ever again.**

And then there was silence; they both pulled their arms away and rolled the sleeves back up. A minute or two later after staring at Kurloz intently, the maelstrom that was the thought process of Karkat vantas calmed down and he opened his mouth to speak.

 

“You’re right, we are and we have and I can only fucking assure you that I don’t plan on wasting this chance she’s given me.”

 

**I believe you vantas. But I should warn you that Meulin has made Nepetas wellbeing her business which also makes it my business. Should you think about hurting her in that manner again, don’t.**

 

Karkat nodded slowly and then the girls returned, the rest of the dinner went on in mindless small talk. Karkat and Kurloz talking to each other psychically and Meulin continuing her conversation with Nepeta in complete privacy. The food arrived, they ate and soon the evening was over. As they were dropped off back at Nepetas apartment Karkat placed an arm around her shoulders.

 

“That was interesting.”

 

“It was fun!”

 

“What were you and Meulin talking about?”

 

Nepeta froze and a blush crept up and hit her face full bloom. She quickly stepped away and began fumbling with her keys.

 

“Nothing impurrtant! What about mew and Purrloz? Mew appeared to be having a purrety intense staring contest!”

 

“Honestly, I have a feeling I have a lot more in common with him than I would like to admit. Maybe I might ask him if he wants to hangout sometime or not.”

 

“Really? Mew hardly like anyone! This is great!”

 

“Yeah, he didn’t appreciate you guys talking in a sign language he doesn’t understand.”

  
With a triumphant “whoop” she finally got the door opened and looked at him quizzically.

 

“What do mew mean?”

 

“You guys were talking in English sign language right?”

“No, we were talking in alternian! Why would mew think we knew English sign language?”

 

“That son of a bitch.”

 

She giggled and ushered him in.

 


	2. Part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Meulin said to Nepeta and a little bit more

Nepeta got into the car with her matesprit and signed hello to Meulin; Meulin in return gave a series of quick and enthusiastic greetings. Their conversation consisted mostly of discussions about the double date including what they were wearing, what their matesprits were wearing, where they were going, did Karkat always look so unimpressed? And what sort of steak they preferred.

Hours prior to the date Meulin and discussed quite extensively with Kurloz how they were going to help the two; Kurloz was to help Karkat from personal experience and she was going to give a pep talk to her little double. Discussion was a loose term seeing as she’d had everything planned out three days in advance and pretty much had everything memorised by now.

Shipping is serious business and she was prepared to fight anyone who tried to argue otherwise.

A key part of this plan was casually bringing up the physical side of her relationship in up in conversation. Meulin made a last minute decision to jump straight to the point instead as a new idea popped into her mind.

“So have you done the frick frack with karkat yet?”

Nepeta blushed furiously and began signing in protest.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your b-“

“So you haven’t?”

“No…”

“Why ever not kitten? 

“Beclaws he feels uncomfortable about it and I’m not going to furce the issue!”

She’d put the cat puns in with extra effort, slowing down her signing considerably as she paused to make sure each one made sense; she still wasn’t anywhere near as quick as meulin was.

“How do you know he feels uncomfortable, have you asked him?”

“No but… it’s not exactly something I can just bring up mew know!”

“Why effur not?”

“Beclaws it’d be weird?”

“You two are dating kitten, if you can’t talk about pailing with each other comfortably when one of you wants to do it then the relationship is going to be under a lot of stress, trust me.”

“I’m kind of scared he just doesn’t find me attractive…”

She admitted finally, her eyes becoming downcast and her signing losing a bit of energy. She looked defeated and dejected.

“I mean; he never found me attractive before. Sometimes it feels like he’s just dating me as a last resort beclaws someone told him to!”

Meulin hesitated, this was not what she had anticipated and the small cat girl seemed on the verge of crying.

“I’m sure that’s not it…”

She signed desperately.

“The worst part is that it still feels like she’s around! It still feels like I have to compete with her even though she broke his heart and left him purractically fur dead! It’s not fair I’m always there fur him and it’s not that he dislikes me it’s just… it’s just that I’m not her and what he wants, what he’s always effur wanted was her!”

She finished her signing by crossing her arms defensively, her lower lip quivered a little and meulin just stared at her in shock. Finally Meulin began to sign again, very slowly and methodically as though each word or phrase had been meticulously planned.

“You should try telling him these things kitten, a long time ago I was scared that Kurloz was going to break up with me to be with someone else and I became so paranoid and scared that I wasn’t good enough fur him that I stopped eating, thinking foolishly that what he wanted was a more attractive matesprit. After a while he caught on and we talked for a furry long time. Sometimes mew just need to trust whoever mew are with and even if it’s really hard, talk to them about when mew are starting to panic.”

“It’s not that easy with karcat, I used to be really clingy and obvious about my feelings fur him and that just drove him away and made him feel uncomfortable and I think that if I told him about everything he’d just run away again.”

“Karkat doesn’t strike me as someone who’d do that.”

“Nothing purrsonal but mew don’t exactly know him.”

“No but I knew his dancestor, if they’re anything alike at all then he’d try his hardest to make the relationship work.”

“Can we talk somewhere more privately? I’m a little self conscious that kurloz can see everything I’m saying.”

“Of course, toilet?”

“Of course!”

With this the two trolls stood up and headed for the girls bathroom, nepeta still couldn’t get used to the idea of separate toilets for something as silly as whether or not you had lumps on your chest! She knew there was probably more to it than that but honestly she didn’t care.  
They stood in the rather expensive looking bathroom and continued their conversation.

“I’m worried about karcat, I’m scared he might try again and I don’t know what to do.”

Meulin hugged her gently whilst she sniffled into her shoulder; patting her back and trying to calm her down. After a few minutes Nepeta pulled away and wiped her tears with her sleeve and signed an apology, Meulin smiled faintly and shook her head.

“No need to apologise, we’ll talk about it later okay? We can’t stay in here forever mew know.”

“I guess you’re right, I’m sorry for freaking out on mew like this.”

“It’s fine, honestly, I know exactly what mew are going through and trust me Kurloz will be able to help Karkat if anyone can.”

Nepeta nodded and smiled halfheartedly. She led the way out back to the toilet and put on her best smile, Karkat and Kurloz were staring at each other and she wondered what they’d been talking about but put it to the back of her mind and instead focused on making small talk with Meulin.

The dinner continued without incident and they and went home together, it had become custom for Karkat to walk Nepeta back to her apartment before heading home himself; tonight however she had different plans.

She ushered him into the apartment and locked the door behind them.

“Uhm, Nepeta?”

He turned in confusion and his questioned was answered with a kiss; her arms wrapped around his neck and his naturally found their way around her waist. It took him a moment to get over his surprise but then he returned the kiss and for a moment he swore he could feel all of her affection for him in that kiss and life began to seem a little bit less hopeless. 

Her phone buzzed loudly; ruining the beautiful silence of the moment. She pulled away and picked up the phone; frowning as she checked her messages. Sneakily he crept behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist; kissing her neck softly and causing her breath to hitch a little.

“karkat.”

“Shit, sorry I’ll stop.”

“No, not that. Look.”

She held the phone up to his face and he peered at it; sure enough there was a message from a number he hadn’t heard from in a long time and he felt a lump form in his throat.

“What’s it say?”

“Help…”

The silence fell around them and swelled like a thunderstorm. He felt his heart quicken and try to claw it’s way out of his body through his throat. Nepeta pulled away from him slowly and opened the door to the apartment; dialling the number for emergency services. She fixed him with a look that frightened him, he didn’t doubt that something bad had happened to Terezi but he was now afraid that whoever did it to her was about to be very, very dead.

“Are you coming? They are your ex’s.”

He flinched at that but nodded and followed her out of the apartment.

Not too far away in a run down apartment that was located squarely in the center of a neighbourhood filled with people more likely to kill you for your shoes than shake your hand the sound of a juggling club striking flesh resounded throughout the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so bloody long for such a sub par chapter but i've been bogged down by obligations to college and work.

**Author's Note:**

> Part two is Nepetas side of the evening!


End file.
